JJortlanb ©bscruer
Page A4
August 9. 2006
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
O pinion
New Orleans
One Year after
Hurricane
Poorer for letting
problems fester
U.S. S en . B arack O bama
A few weeks
ag o , I had th e
chance to travel
to New O rleans
and take stock o f
the rebuilding ef­
fort. There were
signs o f hope - 1 saw it in the Habitat
volunteers w ho built new homes for
people in need and the small business
ow ners who spoke o f a more prosper­
ous New O rleans. But. there were also
signs that if we don't redouble our
efforts to help this city, this city will not
by
Welfare Reform Needs Reforming
Put more emphasis
on education, training
by J udge
G reg M athis
This month m arks the 1 Oth anniversary
of the federal welfare reform act, signed by
then-President Bill Clinton.
Already, Republicans are spinning the
numbers, using the research to show the
success o f reform . W elfare caseloads
dropped dramatically, more people moved
into the workforce, people did not resort to
crim e to feed their fam ilies as the D em o­
crats predicted. Sure, the picture looks
rosy, but it’s not com plete.
T he reality is that most o f those that left
welfare now work in low-paying, unskilled
jo b s because reform d idn't put enough
em phasis on education and vocational
train in g . T hough w e ’ve su ccessfu lly
trim m ed dow n the welfare rolls, w e’ve
increased the num ber o f w orking poor in
this country. Now we must turn our atten­
tion to these men and women and give
them the tools they need to lift them selves
provisions for jo b training, the act d id n 't
em phasize it. As such, many form er w el­
fare recipients lack the skills that could
lead to higher paying jobs, health benefits
and career advancem ent.
Research conducted by the Urban In­
stitute, a nonpartisan social and econom ic
policy research organization, show s that
most of those w ho moved from welfare to
work d id n 't make enough to pay their rent
out o f poverty.
I t's no secret
that, without m ar­
k etab le sk ills a
w orker w o n 't go
very far in the job
market. U nfortu­
nately, former wel­
fare recipients are
experiencing that
Too much emphasis is placed on
simply finding work and not enough is
placed on finding sustainable work.
firsthand. C urrent research show s that
people who moved from welfare to work
often struggle to keep a steady job, m ak­
ing it difficult to stay afloat financially.
The welfare reform act -o ffic ia lly known
as the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act o f 1996 -
stressed work and, w hile there were some
at least once during the year; 25-percent
also report problem s affording ftxxl. Most
o f those leaving the welfare rolls were
women with chi Idrcn; many of these women
report having been fired from their jobs
because they took time off to-stay home
with a sick child.
The goal o f wanting a self-sufficient
population is a noble one. But the 1996 act
fell short of that dream. C ongress reautho­
rized the act, but the necessary provisions
- ones that w ould push for jo b training,
provide w om en with quality childcare -
w eren’t added. W hile getting a jo b is im ­
portant, too much em phasis is placed on
sim ply finding work and not enough is
placed on finding sustainable work. Per­
haps a new bill should be introduced; one
that considers the needs o f A m erica’s
w orking poor. This bill could increase
em ploym ent support for people com ing
out prison; get high school dropouts into
program s that would help them develop
jo b skills and create program s that truly
help bridge the gap between welfare and
work.
For A m erica to truly work, we have to
make sure that all o f our people can do for
them selves. Education and training is the
only way to m ake that happen.
Judge Greg Mathis is national vice
president o f Rainbow PUSH and a na­
tional board member o f the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference.
A Sick War on Marijuana
\
/
Enforcement is inhumane
/
by J im
H ightower
Excuse me fo ra moment while I vent about the m ind-boggling
stupidity o f the autocratic, bureaucratic, right-wing. N eanderthal
num bskulls w ho keep pushing an insane, inane, and inhum ane
holy war against m arijuana - which is after all, a weed.
The most em barrassing thing for these holy warriors is that the
Z&HC
*£ACH V*«*’
Join Mayor Tom Potter
& State Senator Avel Gordly
for the 4th Annual Wellness Within REACH Walk!
Saturday, A ug. 19th a t 9:00 A M
in D aw son P ark (a t N .V a n c o u v e r & S ta n to n )
M usic, food, & fun!
weed is winning!
They've been at this w ar since 1937, spending billions and
billions o f our tax dollars, m ^
_
stom ping
on our Bill o f Rights. They've used phone taps, garbage searches,
jack-booted raids, and draconian prison term s to... well, to do
___________ ___________ w hat? T o nab peaceful,
mellow tokers w ho aren't
bothering anyone, that's
what.
D espite 60 years o f
sp e n d in g o u r m o n ey ,
they've failed; 85 percent
o f A m ericans say m ari­
juana is easy to obtain
today, a third o f our popu­
lation says they've tried
The holy
warriors have
become more fan­
atical and thug­
gish than ever.
it, nearly 15 million people partake ot it at least monthly —and more
high school students now smoke m arijuana than cigarettes!
M eanwhile, the holy warriors have becom e more fanatical and
$20 re g is tra tio n , ch ildren u n d er 10 free!
Sen. Barack Obama is a Democrat
from lllinios and a member o f the Con­
gressional Black Caucus.
A Pledge to
Rescue Our
Youth
by M aya
A ngf . eou
Young women,
young men of
color, we add
our voices to
the voices of
your ancestors who speak to you
over ancient seas and across im­
possible mountain tops.
Come up from the gloom of national
neglect, you have already been
paid for.
Come out of the shadow of irrational
prejudice, you owe no racial debt
to history.
The blood of our bodies and the
prayers of our souls have bought
you a future free from shame and
bright beyond the telling of it.
We pledge ourselves and our re­
sources to seek for you clean and
well furnished schools, safe and
non-threatening streets, employ­
ment which makes use of your
talents, but does not degrade your
dignity.
thuggish than ever.
A m arijuana arrest is m ade every 4 1 seconds in A m erica - nine
out o f I Oof them for mere possession. In 2004,772,000 Am ericans
You are the best we have.
were arrested on m arijuana charges - more than for all violent
crim es com bined. And 4O.(XX) Am ericans are in prison today for
this victim less crim e - more than the entire prison populations o f
You are what we have become.
eight European countries.
Even sicker, the sanctim onious weed warriors have m ade it a
crim e for thousands o f seriously sick people to get the medical
benefits o f using small am ounts o f doctor-prescribed marijuana.
For information call 202-462-5747.
Jim Hightower is the author o f "Thieves In High Places:
They've Stolen Our Country And It's Time To Take It Back."
I
be saved.
There are tw o kinds o f rebuilding
needed. There is the physical kind -
hom es to build and rubble to clear,
roads to pave and businesses to grow,
levees to fortify and storm prepara­
tions to make.
But there is also a com m unity to
rebuild. There is trust to build and preju­
dice to clear aw ay, there is com passion
to grow and a sense o f em pathy to
fortify.
It is this com m unity that all o f us
have a responsibility to help rebuild in
the m onths to com e.
As we approach the one year anni­
versary o f this terrible disaster, we need
to rem em ber how each o f us felt when
w e saw o u r b ro th e rs and siste rs
stranded on a roof or floating through
the streets.
We must rem em ber that the poverty
that existed in the 9th Ward long before
Katrina still exists in the neighborhoods
o f Detroit, on the South Side o f C hi­
cago, in rural M ississippi and on the
streets o f Com pton.
W e have to recom m it ourselves to
the notion that as long as we let these
problem s fester, we are all poorer as a
people. In remembering all these things,
we will not only succeed in rebuilding
a city, but an entire nation that is true to
our highest ideals.
I
You are all we have.
We pledge you our whole hearts
from this day forward.
Maya Angelou, one o f the great
voices o f contemporary literature,
presented the pledge above as part
o f national Call to Action to Se­
cure Our Youth at the 2006 Es­
sence Music Festival.